Customer Reviews

Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An absolutely amazing movie!Fans of classical mythology as well as comic book readers should check this film out at once. An incredible plot charged with ancient conflicts between good and evil serves as the backdrop to some wonderful charachter (sic) development. Anyone who enjoyed "the bride with whie hair" or any other magical epic set in ancient china will indeed get a massive kick from this movie. Unfortunately, the breakneck pace of the amazing plot combined with only subtitles available to all us occidentals means that if you blink, you're lost. SEE IT!

Even die hard Hong Kong film fans will agree that this movie is a tad more ridiculous and cheesy than most. Still, even if the effects are dated and the plot is thin, it is all good fun. You are entertained from the first scene to the last, and despite being almost twenty years old, the movie holds up better than a majority of the early eighties fantasy movies. It beats the hell out of Labryinth, Legend, and Big Trouble in Little China, a film that sight Zu as its primary influence

The fantasy genre in Hong Kong received a fresh renovation with this, Tsui Hark's elaborate feature-length set piece upon which all others would be based.

No fantasy film since would be able to capture the allure of Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain, although those that came close (Chinese Ghost Story, Swordsman II, Dragon Inn) all featured Tsui Hark as part of the crew.

Zu throws away any sense of believability at the very beginning, and opts instead for a wonderfully majestic setting in which a man can fly if he knows the proper spell and a sorceror can keep a giant rock intent on world destruction at arm's length with the aid of his goatee.

An acquired taste, for sure; anybody with a firm grip on reality will hate this movie. But a real gem for someone that is anxious for something they've never seen before.

Way overrated, a fair movie but only reason is the special effects the first half-an-hour is boring, and there are parts of this movie that are so cheesy it makes you want to cringe in horror. The plot is about a guy who goes to the magical world of Wu Mountain and who is crazy about this girl.

my recommendation - watch this movie don't but it

Plot: Set in medieval China, a young scout stumbles his way into the middle of a trippy supernatural war between magic kung fu masters and all powerful demons that look like flying sheets.

Review: As exciting as it is disorientating, the utterly bizzare "Zu Warriors" sprints through its epic plot, gigantic cast,and escalting dark fantasy elments without ever slowing down or stopping to explain itself. Needless to say you aren't going to have an easy time following this one. Thankfully, the film doesn't take itself too seriously, freely mixing physical comedy and even ironic self-aware humor into the increasingly surreal action. The highly creative and ballet like kung fu fights are frequent and complex with weird cartoonish special effects and wire work. The effects are somewhat dated in places and you can even see "wires" occasionally, however this is all part of the campy fun appeal. All the performers appear to be having a ton of fun, providing the movie with boundless energy and charm. And while the film does show its age and budget, the ideas and visuals are so wild and imaginative, you are still going to have your mind blown.

I usually enjoy films by Tsui Mark. But, this film is different. The blurb says, "The result is a spellbinding fantasy to delight fans of sci-fi , martial arts, special effects...". I only partly agree with this. A fantasy story like the story of the "fall" is spellbinding because it touches something inside of us. By contrast, this film does not have inside it any kernel of truth at all. I also have difficulty following the theme of the story because of its incredibility. However, this is not to say that I do not derive any satisfaction of all from this story. For one thing, I derive great satisfaction in watching the traditional mannerism of the ladies. Modern, urban chinese ladies tend to feel inferior if they do not expose the yang character of their personality at all. Also, I have "fetishism" from watching nude, beautiful female feet. Brigitte Lin's feet look particularly beautiful in her various poses. I wish she will allow me to kiss her feet. So, this factor alone negatives ab initio the feelings of incredulity shown by the various parts of the movie. I am happy to give this movie 5 star.

This film combines all the best martial arts fighting in scenes that though they may not be completeley believable, are done with such creativity and artistic expresion that you do not feel as if you watching a childrens fantasy film.

An early film by Tsui Hark; certainly not one of its best. Compared with his later works, this film is pretty primitive and the "special effects" are almost laughable in its crudeness. Best part of the film is Brigitte Lin's brief role as the "ice maiden"

I would say this film is about the corniest movie I have every seen, but I really like it. Take it for what it is-cheesy Kung-Fu with cheesy effects. Almost too much to bear, but it has good characters and a good enough plot. This movie is not for everyone.